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Personalization and the Promise of Contact Theory
340
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0
References
2002
Year
Social PsychologySocial CategorizationSocial InfluenceCommunicationSocial SciencesPsychologyIntergroup RelationPersonalized LearningSocial IdentityCategory MembersCommunication EffectsUser ExperienceE-service PersonalizationContact TheorySocial Category MembersApplied Social PsychologyInformation ManagementPersonalized SearchSocial Identity TheorySocial CognitionPositive Intergroup ContactInterpersonal CommunicationInteractive MarketingHuman-computer InteractionArts
The article reviews theoretical debates on generalizing positive intergroup contact, contrasting Brewer and Miller (1984), Hewstone and Brown (1986), and Gaertner and Dovidio (2000). It defines key concepts—intergroup salience, typicality, decategorization, differentiation, and personalization—and argues that differentiation (individuation) and personalized interaction (self‑disclosure and self/other comparison) are conceptually independent. A hypothetical experiment is described to operationally separate differentiation and personalization. The study predicts that personalization yields stronger benefits, with differentiation mainly cognitive effects, while personalization also motivates self‑disclosure and increases trust.
The article discusses theoretical issues regarding the generalization of positive intergroup contact. It contrasts the models of Brewer and Miller (1984), Hewstone and Brown (1986), and Gaertner and Dovidio (2000). It elaborates the conceptual meaning of key concepts: intergroup salience, typicality of an outgroup member, decategorization, differentiation, and personalization. In particular, the article argues for the conceptual independence of differentiation (individuation) among social category members and personalized interaction (self‐disclosure and self/other comparison) with category members. A hypothetical experiment is presented to illustrate the independent operationalization of the two constructs. Stronger benefits are expected for the latter. Whereas the benefits of differentiation primarily rest on cognitive effects, personalization also has motivational consequences: justifying one’s self‐disclosure and inducing increased trust.